


You Are Not Alone in Life (Although You Might Think That You Are)

by hotcocoa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Getting Together, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Slurs, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7216390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotcocoa/pseuds/hotcocoa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takahiro wishes Iwaizumi would stop paying so much attention to him. It makes it that much harder to hide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Are Not Alone in Life (Although You Might Think That You Are)

**Author's Note:**

> This a fic where Makki suffers so guess who requested it? [@pigeon-religeon](http://pigeon-religeon.tumblr.com) bask in what you have created

Takahiro drags himself into his room after a long day, throwing his bag into the corner and himself onto the bed. You’d think he’d be numb to this now, right? Rise above it. Be strong. But he’s not strong, is he? So he lets the tears flow and thinks about how pathetic he is instead.

Volleyball practice the next morning simply serves to reaffirm his convictions. His serves are weakest out of the third years, and his spikes are blocked or land out of bounds more often than they stay in. He’s fighting back tears by the time he’s changing into his school uniform.

_Pathetic._

He throws himself into his classes, the drone of the teacher’s voice a welcome distraction from the thoughts swirling around in his own head. He’s not sure whether he’s grateful or dejected when Matsukawa drags him to sit with them at lunch—the distraction is welcome, but then he has to put up a brave front.

As if he has an ounce of bravery in him.

“Makki-chan!” A bright voice cuts through his inner monologue. “Who do you think would win at arm-wrestling, me or Mattsun?”

“Matsukawa,” he replies immediately, taking a large bite of rice.

Oikawa pouts at that. “Makki-chan is just a sore loser because he can never beat Iwa-chan.”

“Like you would be able to beat Hanamaki at arm-wrestling,” Iwaizumi snaps at him. All three of them look at him in surprise. He raises an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

Oikawa pays an inordinate amount of attention to Matsukawa for the rest of the lunch period.

“Hanamaki,” Iwaizumi calls as Takahiro turns to head back to class. He pauses and looks back at Iwaizumi curiously.

“Here,” Iwaizumi says gruffly, pressing a package into Takahiro’s hand. “My mom packed extra cream puffs with my lunch today.” He disappears before Takahiro can call him on his bullshit and he stares at the package in his hand in wonder. A smile finds its way onto his face as he sneaks a cream puff (or two) into his mouth before class.

The same smile is on his face as he pulls out the last cream puff on his way to afternoon volleyball practice.

And promptly falls away when he sees familiar figure leaning against the school building.

“Hey, faggot,” the boy calls as he pushes off the wall, smirk evident in his voice. “On your way to ogle guys in the locker room like the pervert you are?”

Takahiro glares at the ground and speeds up his walk.

Only for the bully to reach out and smack Takahiro’s cream puff to the ground.

“Hey!” he cries out as the cream puff falls and smushes into the ground.

He immediately knows he’s made a mistake.

The bully’s eyes widen and he laughs. “What the fuck? What, did your _boyfriend_ give that to you?” Tears prick at the corners of Takahiro’s eyes as he stares at the dirt-covered cream puff at his feet. The other boy laughs again, more incredulously. “Holy fuck, he did!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Takahiro says stiffly.

“Yeah, like anyone would want _you,”_ the bully sneers derisively. Takahiro doesn’t even see his arm draw back before something solid connects with his face and he staggers back in blinding pain.

“You’re disgusting,” the boy hisses, stepping on the cream puff for good measure as he leaves Takahiro holding his face and failing to hold back tears.

It’s almost halfway through practice when Oikawa drops the ball he’s holding and screams _“oh my god!”_ Takahiro cringes as every head in the gym turns towards him and he has to laugh off the wide eyes and concerned looks directed his way.

“I’m sorry for being late! I just…walked into a door and had to let the nurse patch me up. Don’t let me disrupt practice!” He laughs nervously. “I’m just a stupid idiot, don’t worry about me.” His strained smile doesn’t seem to do a very good job of convincing everyone. Kunimi, bless him, immediately pulls a distracted Kindaichi back into practicing blocks. Oikawa, Matsukawa, and the second years look at him skeptically before slowly returning to their drills.

Iwaizumi, however, is glaring at him furiously.

It makes Takahiro uncomfortable, but he doesn’t feel like the anger is directed at him.

That makes him more uncomfortable.

Iwaizumi tries to corner him after practice. “Hanamaki—” he says, grabbing the edge of Takahiro’s sleeve as he tries to leave the locker room.

Takahiro gently pulls away with a nervous laugh. “Sorry for worrying everyone, Iwaizumi-san! I’d better get home and ice my eye so I’m in good shape for practice tomorrow. Bye!”

He walks home by himself and tries not to cry. He makes it to the inside of his front door before he slides down against it and breaks down sobbing.

_Broken. Disgusting. Pathetic._

Takahiro goes straight to bed and hopes he never wakes up.

But the world is not that kind and he has to drag himself to practice the next morning with a throbbing black eye. Most of the team members seem like they’re over it, but Takahiro can feel Iwaizumi watching him closely all throughout practice.

He wishes he wouldn’t.

The day goes by too slowly and at the same time too quickly because all too soon he’s met with that mocking voice again, affirming everything he tells himself every night and honestly Takahiro can’t complain because he deserves this. This time, he sees the punch coming and he flinches and squeezes his eyes shut.

…and nothing happens. Takahiro opens one eye and suddenly both of them are flying open wide as he takes in the scene before him.

A strong hand is wrapped firmly around the bully’s wrist, holding him back from the punch he was about to throw. Iwaizumi is staring at him with what Takahiro can only describe as pure hatred. The boy looks appropriately terrified.

“If you _ever,”_ Iwaizumi spits, “lay a hand on my friend again, I swear to god you will not be able to do anything with this arm of yours for _weeks._ Do I make myself fucking understood?”

“Fuck you,” the boy replies in a frightened squeak as he wrenches his arm away and scrambles in the other direction, but his voice is so scared that the insult holds no threat or malice.

When Iwaizumi turns to Takahiro, all of his anger is gone and his expression is all soft concern. “I’m so sorry, Hanamaki,” he says, reaching out towards Takahiro, “I’m so sorry he hurt you. _God,_ I want to hurt him so badly.”

Takahiro shrugs away from his touch. “It’s no big deal,” he mumbles. “I des—” He clamps his jaw shut before he can finish his sentence, but he’s already said too much.

There’s a renewed fire in Iwaizumi’s eyes as he steps towards Takahiro. Takahiro flinches and closes his eyes again as Iwaizumi reaches a hand towards his face, but Iwaizumi’s touch is gentle, oh so gentle and he’s tugging Takahiro down and _oh._

Iwaizumi’s lips are probably the softest things Takahiro has ever felt, and they’re pressed against his own. _Iwaizumi is kissing you,_ his mind supplies helpfully, and he considers this for a moment before he finally realizes _oh. Iwaizumi is kissing me._

No longer has he accepted this fact than Iwaizumi pulls back, still inches from his own face, cupping Takahiro’s cheek in his hand and looking at him with such affection that Takahiro’s heart hurts.

“Come on,” Iwaizumi says, sliding his hand down from Takahiro’s face to take his hand. “Let’s go.”

And maybe Takahiro’s imagining it, but he thinks maybe Iwaizumi means something more than just showing up to volleyball practice.

**Author's Note:**

> You can yell at me [@agedashi-tooru](http://agedashi-tooru.tumblr.com) on tumblr. I deserve it.
> 
> The title is taken from a refrain in ["Our Farewell" by Within Temptation](http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/Within_Temptation:Our_Farewell).


End file.
